Matt Vickers welcomes investment from the Conservative Government, resulting in the brand new refurbishment of Ropner Park and Littleboy Park tennis courts in Stockton South, ensuring greater access to grassroots sports for local people.
Two sites were regenerated across Stockton South with improvements including gates and online booking.
1,000 public tennis courts have now been refurbished on the eve of the Wimbledon Championships, thanks to the ongoing rollout of a £30 million investment in the grassroots sport.
The £30 million package, which has seen £21.6 million committed by the Conservative Government and £8.4 million by the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), is the most significant investment in grassroots tennis for a generation.
In its lifetime, the package will deliver vital improvements to the condition of over 3,000 park tennis courts across England, Scotland and Wales between 2022-2024, with the target of attracting 500,000 more players every year.
Every court being refurbished will also benefit from access to the LTA online booking system and digital access gates, to make getting onto court as easy and secure as possible for tennis players across the country.
The LTA recently announced a rise of 43 per cent in adults playing during 2022 to a total of 4.7 million, and a significant increase in children playing annually to 3.6 million. Notably there has also been significant growth in women’s participation, up 34 per cent, and participation among 16-34 year olds up by 48 per cent.
This major investment is designed to support the Conservative Government’s commitment to levelling up sports provision across the nation. It also provides greater opportunities for everyone to follow health guidance on physical activity, which will be crucial in delivering the priority to cut NHS waiting lists as more people get active.
The Conservative Government is providing financial support for other grassroots sports, including over £300 million of funding which is being used to support the roll-out or refurbishment of multi-sport facilities across the UK between 2021-25, and a £60 million investment into local swimming pools in England this year.
Commenting, Matt Vickers said:
“I’m grateful for this investment from the Conservative Government and the improvement in facilities at Ropner Park and Littleboy Park in Stockton South. Funding for grassroots sports is essential to get people active as part of our priority to cut NHS waiting lists.
“I recently visited the new facilities as they were unveiled to the public. They will be a true asset to the community, particularly for our young people, who take great value from grassroots sport whether it be finding new talent, participating in regular exercise, or team building.”
Commenting, Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer said:
“We are committed to levelling up access to sport which is so important for the nation’s physical and mental health.
“We have now delivered 1,000 resurfaced tennis courts across the country so anyone inspired by Wimbledon next week should pick up a racket and give it a go.
“We will continue to deliver 3,000 resurfaced tennis courts so that more people across the country have the opportunity to play tennis and I can already see from this local court in Eastbourne the positive impact it is going to have for many years to come.”
